In Pictures: Petrol station hit by Hamas rockets

FRANCE 24’s special envoy Willy Bracciano went to the petrol station in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod hit Friday by a Hamas rocket launched from Gaza, causing one serious injury so far.

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The strike caused the first Israeli casualty in the recent escalation in violence with the Palestinian Territories. Medics said a man in his 50s was in serious condition after the strike, which caused a huge explosion and major fire.

Hamas has launched more than 550 rockets since Monday, but most have been struck down by Israel’s missile defence system, the “Iron Dome.” Israel has also continued an offensive, “Operation Protective Edge,” on the Gaza Strip.

At least 79 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the offensive, which Israel says it launched to end the persistent rocket attacks on its civilian population.